Season of Appreciation

When I was a young girl, I used to always look forward to waking up on Christmas morning to open gifts. I would create wish lists of books and toys that I sought out and prayed that they would come on the morning of the Dec. 25th. But as I grew older and experienced more in life, I came to realize that Christmas is more than just a gift-giving holiday—it’s a season of appreciation.

In this day and age when social media is so intrinsically part of one’s life, it’s easy to get so caught up in wanting—whether it be clothes, looks, or love. The lens in which my generation sees one another is tainted with expectations and “likes,” making teenage self-consciousness more than the norm.

So what I say to fellow teenagers is this: look up from your devices and create memories this Christmas season. Despite the ongoing bouts of negativity on the web, there are still so many things to be thankful for this 2016. It’s been a year of (more) Harry Potter, pandas no longer being endangered, Pokemon Go, and more wonderful things. There is so much to be thankful for, and the reasons above are only a few.

Having family, friends, and basic necessities is more than what a lot of people have this Christmas season—so don’t waste it. Take some time off from your phone, unplug, and ask your parents and siblings about how their year went.

What I did not recognize as a small kid was that toys lasted for only so long. In introspection, I value memories more than most of my Christmas gifts. These memories—of dinners with family and reflections on years that had passed—represent what Christmas truly means to me.

So log out of Facebook and face your family and friends. Make memories that count this Christmas, and take time to appreciate the good in the world. Show appreciation in which, essentially, anyone can practice all year around. After all, in the words of Charles Dickens, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”